When comparing Pantheon Files vs SpaceFM, the Slant community recommends SpaceFM for most people. In the question“What are the best file managers for UNIX-like systems?” SpaceFM is ranked 11th while Pantheon Files is ranked 20th. The most important reason people chose SpaceFM is:
Just right click on any menu or menu option (including the context menu itself) and you'll be allowed to customize it. This lets you add support or integration for features you find missing.
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Pros
Pro Easy to use
Pantheon files (like the Pantheon IDE) is very stylish and minimal. It's minimal and very easy to use. The most useful commands are there in plain sight, on the toolbar or the sidebar.
Pro supports natural sorting of file names
Dolphin and Deepin File Manager support it, too.
Pro Incredibly customizable
Just right click on any menu or menu option (including the context menu itself) and you'll be allowed to customize it. This lets you add support or integration for features you find missing.
Pro Minimal dependencies
It only needss gtk, udev, desktop-file-util and shared-mime-info which is available in most systems.
Pro Highly extensible
Functionalities can be extended by user scripts as plugins. Some scripts can also be downloaded from https://github.com/IgnorantGuru/spacefm-plugins/wiki. Plugins can be exported too.
Pro Tab and panel support
SpaceFM supports up to 4 individually customizable panels as well as multi-tabbed file management.
Pro No back seat driver
Does not obstruct professional work by engrossing root warnings.
Pro Desktop management support
Can be used to set wallpaper and desktop icons with high configuration support.
Pro Easily open folder as root
Can open different folders as root, this way you don't have to use the terminal to move around files for which you need root permission.
Pro Gtk-2 and 3 support
Available in gtk2 and gtk3.
Pro Intuitive and extendable through plug-ins
Great UI, easy to use and configure, several plug-ins available to make everyday tasks even easier.
Cons
Con Buggy
Was missing basic network connect features when Loki launched.
Con Not very advanced
Pantheon files (like Elementary OS itself) does not offer many advanced features since it's mostly aimed at beginners.
Con Unstable software, not a file-manager
really, really dangerous stuff.
Crashes and take your work/files into the nowhere - aware.
Con Not intunitive
In some instances it is impossible to create a new folder. There just isn't right-click option or icon for it anywhere.
Con Ugly
Con Some operations are slow
Because it tries to be as lightweight as possible and tries to use very little RAM. This can unfortunately lead to it being slow sometimes.